ORANGE – Mae Kordas showed compassion Saturday night when it came to the Cathedral Catholic senior standout sparing the life of a spider.
Unfortunately for Archbishop Mitty, Kordas was relentless and unforgiving when it came to her attacking and blocking during the CIF State Girls Volleyball Open Division Championships.
Kordas had 18 kills, seven digs and five blocks in her final high school match to lift the Dons to a 25-21, 25-20, 25-16 victory against Archbishop Mitty at Santiago Canyon College.
Mae Kordas of Cathedral Catholic | Photo courtesy of Alex Valladares
Kordas was a member of a deep Cathedral Catholic roster that won the 2022 Open Division state championship with a sweep of Mountain View St. Francis to finish the season 42-0 and capture a national title.
The Yale commit was the central figure during the Dons’ run to a seventh state title in program history, including a benevolent gesture Saturday following an overpowering kill that gave Cathedral Catholic (46-3) a 21-13 advantage in the second set.
Kordas was alerted by senior libero Maya Evens about the presence of a large spider near the face of junior outside hitter Madyson McCarthy and carefully secured the web, only to discover the arachnid was crawling toward her, resulting in a quick disposal off the court.
It was a light moment that briefly halted competition and allowed Archbishop Mitty to regroup before the Monarchs cut the deficit in half, but junior middle blocker Allison Dzieciuch – who had nine kills and no errors in 13 attempts for the Dons – erased any hopes of a comeback by burying a shot inside the 10-foot line that gave Cathedral Catholic a two-set advantage.
Makenna Crosson had 13 kills and nine digs, with Chayse Courtney contributing 11 kills, five digs and two aces for Archbishop Mitty (29-7), helping the Monarchs keep pace with Cathedral Catholic during the first half of the third set.
But the Dons responded with a four-point surge to increase the lead to 20-13, then following only the team’s second missed serve of the match, Cathedral Catholic received a putaway on a slide from Kensley Hennessy, a block by Dzieciuch and a well-placed tip from Sophia Johnson to earn its first championship point.
Although Crosson extended the match by ending a long rally with an impressive middle attack, Archbishop Mitty hit a shot wide moments later, allowing Cathedral Catholic to celebrate its 23rd consecutive victory.
The Dons joined Archbishop Mitty (2016-17) and Mater Dei (2018 and 2023) as the only programs to win multiple Open Division state titles.
Cathedral Catholic improved to 7-1 all-time in state finals, including a Division 2 crown in 2016 and four Division 3 titles from 2008-12.
Cathedral Catholic girls volleyball | Photo courtesy of Alex Valladares
Archbishop Mitty, which still holds the state record with 14 girls volleyball championships, suffered its third setback in an Open Division state final in the past four seasons.
The Monarchs rebounded from a five-set loss Nov. 6 to St. Ignatius in the CIF Central Coast Section Open Division semifinals by sweeping Marin Catholic, Rocklin and Mountain View St. Francis in the Northern California Open Division regional playoffs to reach a California prep record 21st girls volleyball state final.
But Cathedral Catholic capped an even more significant run Saturday by remaining unbeaten the entire fall competing in California.
The Dons suffered a loss Aug. 31 against Cornerstone Christian of Texas at the Kamehameha Schools Labor Day Classic Tournament in Hawaii, along with a pair of setbacks Sept. 21 at the Durango Fall Classic in Las Vegas against Marymount and Xavier College Prep from Arizona.
Cathedral Catholic responded following the consecutive defeats by not losing a match during the last two months of the season, dropping a combined three sets in its final 23 contests, including a victory Oct. 12 at the So Cal Invitational to go along with the Dons’ title Sept. 7 against Mater Dei at the Dave Mohs Tournament.
Although Kordas had a combined 61 kills in four state playoff matches, the Dons were able to prevail against Los Alamitos, Redondo Union, Mater Dei and Archbishop Mitty as a result of a balanced attack, with six athletes recording at least five kills Saturday against the Monarchs.
Johnson had eight kills, Jojo Wilson contributed six kills, six digs and three aces, Hennessy added five kills and five blocks, with McCarthy recording five kills and eight digs for the Dons, who received 22 assists, 10 digs and two aces from Kale’a Lee, in addition to 18 assists and eight digs by Lauren Hanson.
Evens, a Notre Dame commit, accumulated nine digs, nine assists and two aces in the final high school match under the guidance of her mother and Cathedral Catholic head coach Julianna Conn.
Kacie Caoili recorded 29 assists, seven digs and three kills for Archbishop Mitty, with Nicole Macalintal contributing nine digs and six assists, as well as Leyna Nguyen adding five kills, five digs and three blocks for the Monarchs, who lost their second straight showdown with Cathedral Catholic following four consecutive victories from 2007-17.